ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF TOURISM
Advantages
1. Tourism provides foreign exchange (US dollars) which allows:
i) The government to pay bills such as:
a) Allows government to pay foreign debt.
b) Allows the Bahamian dollar to stay on par with the US dollar.
c) Allows government to pay the thousands of persons employed in government their monthly salaries.
d) Allows government to have money to do road works, school construction and all other governmental works.
ii) Allows Bahamians to go shopping abroad to buy goods and send their children to school, as long as the US dollars are floating in the Bahamian economy easily.
iii) Foreign Exchange allows for the easy importation of goods and food.
2. Tourism provides jobs for thousands of Bahamians both directly and indirectly. If tourists do not come to the Bahamas, those persons directly involved in tourism for example, the straw vendors, the taxi drivers, retail storeowners etc., could be unable to pay their bills. If they are unable to make money they could be unable to pay their landlords, their mortgages (the banks), etc. For example, persons indirectly involved in tourism such as landlords, could have trouble obtaining their rent.
3. Tourism plays an important role in ensuring that Bahamians are employed. If tourists do not come to the Bahamas for a period of time, persons employed directly in tourism could begin to lose their jobs and this would be felt in every sector of the economy. For example, some hotel employees were laid off after the September 11th terrorist attacks and some hotels temporarily closed.
Approximately 30% of all persons in The Bahamas are directly employed in tourism. If you add the persons who are indirectly employed in tourism the percentage of persons employed by the tourism sector increases to about 64%.
Disadvantages
1. Some say that Tourism has a negative effect on the Bahamian culture. It has often been said that Bahamians have become...